Degtyaryov machine gun

This article about a Soviet Light Machine Gun relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations of additional sources. (May 2009)

DP machine gun
DP
Type	Light machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1928 - Present
Used by	Soviet Union  China  North Korea  Cambodia  Vietnam  Finland Communist bloc Others
Wars	Spanish Civil War Winter War World War II Korean War Chinese Civil War Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War
Production history
Designer	Vasily Degtyaryov
Designed	1927
Number built	795,000 [1]
Variants	DP, DPT, DPM, DPA, RP-46, Type 53
Specifications
Weight	9.12 kg (20.11 lb)
Length	DP, DPM - 1,270 mm (50 in) RP-46 - 1,272 mm (50.1 in)
Barrel length	DP, DPM - 604 mm (23.8 in) RP-46 - 605 mm (23.8 in)
Cartridge	7.62x54mmR
Action	Gas-Operated
Rate of fire	500 to 600 round/min
Muzzle velocity	840 m/s (2,755.2 ft/s)
Effective range	~800 m
Feed system	47 Round Pan Magazine
Sights	Front: Post w/ ears Back: Tangent leaf

The Ручной пулемёт Дегтярёвa Пехотный (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova Pekhotny) (Degtyaryov hand-held infantry machine gun) or DP was a light machine gun firing the 7.62x54mmR cartridge that was used by the Soviet Union starting in 1928. It was cheap and easy to manufacture - early models had fewer than 80 parts and could be built by unskilled labour. The DP was especially able to withstand dirt. In tests it was buried in sand and mud and was still capable of firing more than 500 rounds. The DP's main drawback was its bipod; it could not withstand much abuse and broke easily. Also, the magazine, which was a pan with 47 rounds that fed in from the top, was relatively small and continuous fire for long periods could not be relied on as much as contemporary belt fed weapons. It took some time to load a new magazine onto the weapon, and each magazine took a much longer time to load with ammunition. However, the DP's lower cyclic rate of fire meant a reduced risk of the barrel overheating. Nicknamed the "Record player", the DP had a reputation as an effective light support weapon. The DP machine gun was supplemented in the 1950s by the more modern RPD machine gun and entirely replaced in Soviet service by the general purpose PK machine gun in the 1960s.

Captured by the Finnish army in the Winter War and the Continuation War to partially replace the Lahti-Saloranta M/26, the weapon received the nickname Emma in the service after a popular waltz; its round magazine resembled a gramophone record as it revolved when the weapon was fired. In the summer of 1944 the Finnish army had about 3400 Finnish-made Lahti-Saloranta's and 9000 captured Soviet-made Degtyaryov's on the front.

A number of the RP-46 variant of the DP have been spotted in present day Somalia, in use with militant forces.

Variants:

• DPM, modernized version adopted in 1943-44, with a more robust bipod fastened to the cooling jacket and the recoil spring housed in a tube projecting from the rear of the receiver which necessitated a pistol grip for this model of the weapon
• DA, for mounting in aircraft (Дегтярёва авиационный, Degtyaryova Aviatsionny; ДА)
• DT and DTM, for mounting in AFVs (Дегтярёва танковый, Degtyaryova Tankovy; ДТ and ДТМ)
• RP-46, belt fed version adopted in 1946 (manufactured in China as the Type 58)
• A semi-automatic-only version has recently been released in the United States [1].

The original DP is more commonly called the DP-28 (or DP-27), although there is some confusion as to whether these are official designations or not.

Gallery

DP	DPM	Chinese Type 53	View of a DP pan magazine
RP-46	RP-46	A, 32nd Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division with M1 or M2 Carbine along with the DP light machine gun.	Polish Army with an DP light machine gun.

See also

• Charlton Automatic Rifle
• Kucher Model K1
• Lahti-Saloranta M/26

References

1. ^ www.weltkrieg.ru

External links

• Korean War Photo-Documentary
• The Battles of the Winter War
• Modern Firearms - Degtyarev DP DPM RP-46
• [2]